BETHANY, Okla. — Saturday will be a day Arkansas Tech University’s basketball teams will want to soon forget — and it has nothing to do with what happened on the Sawyer Center’s basketball court.

Wonder Boys senior Jeff Reese remained in a nearby hospital Saturday night after he collapsed shortly after 4:30 p.m., with the men’s game at the midway point of the first half.

After 10 p.m., Karleskint sent out an update via Twitter:

“Sitting here in the hospital with Jeff. He is doing well and will undergo more test (tomorrow). Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers sent his way.”

Wonder Boys head coach Doug Karleskint told broadcaster Sam Strasner he heard at halftime of the men’s game that Reese was in stable condition at the hospital.

“I’m so proud of our kids for fighting through what they had to go through today,” an emotional Karleskint said after the game. “What I told them at halftime is that they’re the toughest group of kids I’ve ever coached for what they had to see, then they came out and they battled through the rest of the game. They said ‘Let’s go win it for Reese, let’s go play hard,’ and every time we broke the huddle, we said family, because that’s what we are.

“I fully expected the game would be called, but those kids were just relentless about that not happening. They wanted to lay it all on the line, give it everything they had for their brother Reese. Words cannot explain what has transpired the last hour and a half.”

Strasner reported Reese received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and a defibrillator was used to treat the senior from Laurel Hill, Fla., for 30 minutes before he was transported to a hospital. The Murky State transfer was behind the Wonder Boys bench when he collapsed.

The game was stopped with Southern Nazarene (11-8, 6-7 GAO) leading ATU (10-8, 7-5) 14-7 with 9:41 to go in the first half. After Reese left the arena in an ambulance, both teams went back to their locker rooms. Both head coaches met, and the Wonder Boys decided to continue the game.

“They said, ‘Let’s go win it for Reese,’” graduate assistant Brandon Frilled told Strasner when the players were asked if they wanted to continue the game.

Fans in the Sawyer Center applauded Arkansas Tech when the team came out of the locker room, and Crimson Storm shook hands and hugged the Wonder Boys before they warmed up and continued the game. ATU fell behind by 10, but Willie Kirkland tied the score 23-23 late in the first half, then Jay Murphy’s last-second shot gave the Wonder Boys a 25-23 halftime lead.

Arkansas Tech, with only eight players, fell behind and lost 61-54.

But that wasn’t the first stoppage of play inside the Sawyer Center on Saturday. Halftime of the women’s game was extended when the father of Crimson Storm women’s head coach Derek Dorris injured himself in a fall. He was also treated and taken to a nearby hospital.

Golden Suns senior Jessica Weatherford was rushed to a hospital emergency room before ATU’s doubleheader at Southern Nazarene University began Saturday afternoon, reportedly with a temperature of 104 degrees. The all-conference forward from Bonnerdale returned to the bench late in the Suns’ 99-80 loss.

The Golden Suns regained the lead, 10-9, after Silva earned a steal and sunk a fast break jumper with 14:35 to go in the first half. They finished the half strong and scored six straight to make it 49-41 with Southern Nazarene in the lead. Spurgeon scored the first four points of the second half, but the Crimson Storm responded with excellent shooting and led by as many at 22 points (93-71) with 2:17 to play.

“It wasn’t our day,” Golden Suns head coach Dave Wilbers said. “It was just one of those days. We’ve had a lot of things go on the last 24 hours, and I’m proud of our girls for battling and giving ourselves a chance. But they (Crimson Storm) just shot the ball too well.”